Macbook Air vs Macbook Pro with SSD upgrade

K

kmillard

macrumors newbie
I would love some feedback from some smart macrumors folks :)

I'm comparing a
13" Air with 1.7 processor for $1599 with 256 SSD included
vs.
13" Pro with 2.4 processor for $1199+$400 256gb SSD upgrade (install myself)
So my question is, why would I not just upgrade the Pro and come out at the same price with a more beefier processor?
Maybe for the slim body of the Air, but I can handle a little thicker case if it means I get a better machine.
I guess the big question is how big of a difference is there b/w the two processor speeds?
And finally with the recent silent upgrade of the pros, do you think it will force apple to upgrade the airs?
Perhaps if they did then this wouldn't be an issue.
 
Apple can't upgrade the air, because there isn't anything to upgrade it to. The CPUs that the MBP uses are way too hot for the air, and would eat the battery in half the time.

Anyhow, the processor won't make a difference unless you need a lot of processing power. Just because you have a faster CPU doesn't mean you will be able to surf the web faster or watch movies better. If you don't think you'll need the disc drive or the expandability that the MBP offers relative to the air, then the air might be a better choice if you like the form factor
 
I'd never again buy a 13 Pro after having used the Air, but that's just me.

I can't go back to the 1280x800 screen res. It looks pretty dire after having gotten used to the sharpness of the Air's screen.

That said, it depends entirely on what you're going to do with it, which you haven't stated here.
 
hmmm

ok thank ya'll for the response
i don't really know what the job of a processor is if it doesn't make your internet browser run faster, programs open, etc. is it mainly for video buffering, etc?
i'm mainly using the new machine that i decide upon for mail, websites, and maybe lightroom
i would like to know what alust2013 means when he says "Apple can't upgrade the air, because there isn't anything to upgrade it to."
why would increasing the processor not help?
please explain what you mean
thanks
 
alust2013 said:
Apple can't upgrade the air, because there isn't anything to upgrade it to. The CPUs that the MBP uses are way too hot for the air, and would eat the battery in half the time.
Click to expand...

ok i think this is the main issue
the air form factor requires a lower cpu to use the battery that it comes with.
so i'm assuming that the Air's battery is better than the Pro's.
and the retina display is a nice additive
what it comes down to is that i've fallen in love with my recent 4s and iPad2 purchase, the speed on those two machines make my 07' white macbook seem like a dinosaur and i want a comparable machine to the a5 processors speed and multitasking abilities
 
If you don't care about size...

...the Pro is a clear winner. Had the first software package that wouldn't install for me with my 2GB Air last week. No biggie... just upgrade the RAM, right?

...not quite; soldered in. The Pro has a longer effective lifespan.

All that said... I would never buy a Pro; love the light weight and thin Air!
 
looking over apples site
it looks like both the pro and the air have a 7 hr battery
so that may not be a big difference
the pro can handle 8gb of ram vs the 4gb max on air
my best guess is that sometimes in the spring we will see a new macbook air line
i do not see how the 11" baseline models are very useful with their current specs, except for a way for apple to say that air's begin at $999
also
with the recent iCloud release why keep the cd rom drives i the pros?
 
Bear in mind that the Air was designed for SSD from the ground up, which may result in it being faster than the 13" Pro for non heavy processor day to day tasks.

This is why I am holding off on a new 15" Pro until Apple offer them with SSD as standard, or in combination with HD; a Pro with 64Gb SSD for the OS, 1Tb HD for data in a slightly thinner case, coupled with Intel's next generation processor would make for a very formidable machine, 2012 maybe...
 
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